1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image display system and method for image display using projectors, and a screen device for use in the image display system.
2. Related Art
A projector being an image display device of projector type indispensably requires a screen for reproduction of projection images. The screen equipped to a projector for display of projection images is categorized in type, e.g., hard type being hard and not easily broken and soft type being easy to store and move, and front-projection type and rear-projection type depending on the projection direction of a projector.
No matter what type the screen in use is, the screen is an obstacle for people or others to move, and is viewable only with limited direction. As a result, an image display system being the combination of a projector and a screen can be used only in limited places such as meeting rooms and movie theaters.
For betterment the new types of screen appear such as “fog screen” and “white smoke screen” (as examples, refer to Patent Documents 1 (JP-A-4-287032) and 2 (JP-A-7-56235).
The technology of Patent Document 1 (referred to as first previous technology) is of forming a screen (fog screen) by generation of fog uniformly on a plane, and on the resulting fog screen, displaying images coming from an image projection device such as projector. Such a fog screen does not get in the way of people to move, and for example, people can walk into the screen, place any object in the screen, and pass through the screen.
Accordingly, such a fog screen may be formed on paths in airports, stations, hospitals, shopping malls, and others to make it serve as a guideboard of showing the way to go to destinations and displaying various types of information. The fog screen may also be used for various types of events and exhibitions to make it function as means for producing new effects. As such, the combination of a fog screen and a projector can construct an image display system of a new type.
The technology of Patent Document 2 (referred to as second previous technology) is of forming a screen (white smoke screen) by generation of white smoke, and on the resulting white smoke screen, displaying images coming from an image projection device such as projector. Also with such a white smoke screen, similarly to a fog screen, people can walk into the screen, place any object in the screen, and pass through the screen. The white smoke screen is thus available for similar uses as a fog screen.
The problem here is that when such a fog or white smoke screen is disposed on a path, for example, when any person or object exists between the screen and an image projection device such as projector, the person or object obstructs projection lights. If this is the case, the shadow of the person or that of the object appears on the image on the screen, thereby blocking other viewers' view.